The Troublesome Twosome
by Cohen101
Summary: Ryan and Seth get into all kinds of trouble when Kirsten and Sandy decided to adopt Ryan as a baby. Where will their adventures lead? R&R!
1. The RunAways

**Title – The Troublesome Twosome**

**Disclaimer – Sadly, I still own nothing of an excellent show called The OC, so, sniff**

**So – Um… Seth and Ryan grew up together, Ryan was adopted, and just imagining a little Seth and a little Ryan running around together, having fun. Please R&R, so yeah. **

**Chapter 1**

"Seth, Ryan, can you two come down here for a second?"

"Alrighty mommy!" Two voices came drifted down gritty stairway, accompanied by a race of footsteps.

"I bet I can beat you to mommy Ryan!"

"Bet you can't"

Sure enough, little four year old Ryan appeared in the kitchen first, with a puffing Seth trailing behind. "You cheated!"

"No I didn't!"

"Yes you did!"

"No I didn't!"

"Yes you-"

"Stop it!" Kirsten yelled, trying to get the two bickering boys attention.

Both Ryan and Seth stopped.

Kirsten sighed, and asked, "Do you two want a snack?"

"Yeah!" Came the enthusiastic reply of both kids. "I want cookies!" "I want Froot Woops!" "Milk!" "Juice!" When they both noticed they were shouting at the same time, they started laughing.

"Alright you two. Go sit at the table, while I get the snacks." She smiled as they went to go sit at the table, Seth's mouth was already starting on some game or the other when she turned her back and started getting things together. She loved both of them, but sometimes she wondered what it would be like with out Ryan.

"Sandy, Sandy, help. Ow, it hurts, help!" Sandy was driving like mad to the hospital full speed, trying to miss any bumps that the road had. Kirsten's water just started to break, and the hospital was 5 minutes away.

"I'll be alright Kirsten, don't worry, breath," he said, calming Kirsten down microscopically.

When they finally reached the hospital, Kirsten was put on a stretcher, and taken to the Delivery wing while Sandy padded excitedly behind. Joining them at a sharp corner was another woman, who also looked like she was in labor. But the only difference was that she was alone. They were taken to the same room, and doctors buzzed around, shouting instructions, encouraging both woman.

When the two boys finally came out, there was a peaceful atmosphere setting in the pale colored room. Kirsten cried as she took a little baby boy into her arms, looking into the deep hazel eyes. It was perfect. The baby was perfect. Everything was perfect. With a great breath of air, the baby filled its lungs and screamed. Loud. "Seth," whispered Kirsten, while Sandy took the baby from her and started rocking it back and forth. The thin layer of matted hair began to loosen. All the doctors smiled, listening to the lively screaming. Soon, a second, almost identical sounding scream filled the room, as the other woman's baby was born. Everyone basked in the moment, filling their hearts with joy.

The perfect moment was shattered as the woman roughly said, "I don't want him."

Kirsten looked at shock at the young woman with blonde hair, and then quickly became angry at what the woman had said. Taking a look at the baby the other woman had born, she fell in love.

"I got another one at home who's an ass, I don't want him," the women repeated.

Giving a pleading look at Sandy, who was still holding Seth, Kirsten looked back at the other baby. Looking into the clear blue, scrunched up eyes, she knew. She looked Sandy in the eye, silently asking him. Sandy shook his head, and then said, "We'll take him."

When the women waved off the baby one of the nurses was trying to giver her, Kirsten held out her hands and embraced the little boy. Not wanting to seem like she was taking over, Kirsten asked, "What's his name?"

The woman, who was trying to convincing the doctors to let her go, started. "Um… I don't know, think of one."

Kirsten looked hard at the wailing baby in front of her. Sandy sat down on a chair next to her, and leaned over to tell her something secret. Kirsten smiled, and whispered, "Ryan".

The people that were buzzing around the room started moving the other women's bed out. When they got out into the hall, Sandy followed.

"Excuse me, what's your name again?"

"Um… Atwood. Dawn Atwood."

"Thanks." Rushing back into the delivery room to his wife, he sat with Kirsten while the doctors took away both boys.

Kirsten smiled. "You know, we just got in _way _over our heads."

Sandy smiled back, somehow knowing that it would all be worth it.

When the kids were finished their snack, Seth challenged Ryan to a staring contest. Kirsten grinned as Seth tried to make up more and more rules while Ryan just looked lost.

Deciding to rescue Ryan from a completely unfair match that no one was going to win, Kirsten suggested they go watch T.V. Ryan and Seth were settled in on the old couch, sharing a blanket, and watching some old movie about a run-away. Looking at the content kids, Kirsten decided she needed to go upstairs and get her book. She went up the steps and, when she couldn't find the book she was looking for, searched through all the 3 rooms. Unsuccessful in her search, she thought back to the boys. They were being awfully quiet.

Suddenly fearing the silence, she quickly walked back downstairs. Sure enough, when she came back down, the blanket was askew and the kids were missing.

"Ryan, won't mommy be worried about us? We aren't supposed to go anywhere outside the yard without her!"

"Come on Seth, you saw the guy in the TV. He left the yard and he was perfectly alright! We can be just like him!"

"But mommy'w get mad at us… and wook; we can't cross the road without someone to howd our hands!"

"I'll hold your hand if you need one that much!"

"Your not mommy though. Ryan, I wanna go home…" Seth started, tears threatening to start down his adorable face.

"Seth, Seth, its ok. Don't worry, we'll be fine!" Ryan said, trying to act like daddy would. A small shudder ran threw his body. Hopefully daddy wouldn't be mad…

"Weww, what do we do know?" Seth asked. He hadn't thought farther then leaving the house.

"Uh… let's go, that way!"

"Okay…" Seth said reluctantly, following Ryan around the block.

"Haven't we been here alwready?" Seth complained. He'd been walking for 20 minutes, and they had passed the place twice.

"Um…" Ryan stuttered. He was saved from answering the question by an angry Kirsten.

"SETH. RYAN. CAR. NOW!" she screamed. They obediently walked to the car, to scared to do otherwise.

"What do you think you guys were doing? Thank GOD you didn't cross the road. Do you REALIZE what danger you were in? What were you thinking? What gave you the idea to go outside and wander around? "

Ryan timidly spoke up. "There was a show on TV, and the guy went into the wild, and we wanted to do what he did. He was having fun, and we thought we would too…"

"Well, did you have fun?" Kirsten asked, still yelling.

"Nooooo!!" Sobbed Seth curled up in the backseat with Ryan, who was also crying.

Kirsten stopped yelling, noticing that both her kids were crying. "Good. Ok, here's the deal. You guys have to promise me that you're never going to do that again."

"We promise," came a meek reply.

"Good. Now, you're both banned from the TV and all your electronic games for a week. Understood?"

"What does ewectronic mean?" asked Seth.

"It means no Game boys, no hangman, and nothing that uses batteries. Got that?"

"Nooooo!!!" "That's not fair!"

"If you two keep complaining, it'll be two weeks!"

They thought this over, and silently agreed the first option was the better.

"Just don't tell daddy about this. Please?" Ryan asked.

"Why not?"

"Cause I dun wants him to get mad at me."

"I don't know, I'll have to think about it…"

"But-"

Before Ryan could protest, Kirsten pulled up to the driveway.

"Both of you get up to your room now!"

The two boys trudged slowly up the steps, and into the house. "Wow," whispered Seth, "Mommy's weally scary when she's angry."

"I heard that!" Kirsten yelled up to them, even though she could only hear them whispering. Seth and Ryan, thinking she had super hearing, went up their room and lied down on their beds quietly.

When Sandy came home from work with dinner, Kirsten told him all about the incident.

"Well I'll be," was all Sandy could say. Calling the boys down for dinner, he heard no reply and so went upstairs to check on them.

Back-to-back on Ryan's Power Ranger bedspread, they slept together, both curled the same way. A smile snuck its way onto Sandy's face as he turned on the night-light and shut the door silently behind him.

**Please R&R!**


	2. Midnight Cement

**Disclaimer - I don't own The OC, or any of the characters, but yeah…**

**So – this is the next week in there little lives, and I just realized that no four year old talks like Seth, so yeah. Thanks for the reviews and please keep reviewing!**

**Chapter 2**

"Mommy…Mommy…" came a voice, drifting into Kirsten's half awake mind. "Mommy," it said a little louder.

"Uhhh," Kirsten opened her eye a smidgen, taking a while to register little Seth over top her. "Seth… What is it?"

"Mommy, I'm hungry."

Kirsten looked at the clock. 1 AM. "Seth, you ate a little while ago, why are you hungry?"

"Cause Ryan stole most of my food when you and daddy weren't looking."

Shaking her head, Kirsten reluctantly got out of the warm, cozy bed. Putting on a bathrobe, she led Seth downstairs and poured him a bowl of Froot Loops. Seth ate slowly, taking as much time as he could. When he ran out of Froot Loops, he spooned the last of his milk into his mouth, instead of just pouring it into his mouth. Even though Kirsten's mind was still half asleep, she tried to think of what was bothering her. Seth never woke up like this, and if he did, Ryan was always with him. A loud yawn dismissed the thoughts from her mind.

"I'm done mommy, thank you," Seth smiled, struggling to put his dish in the sink.

"You're welcome; now go back to bed, ok?"

"'Kay." She followed Seth up the stairs, wondering if her bed would still be warm. Closing the door behind Seth, she ran back to the bed, and cuddled up to Sandy.

"Mmmm," Sandy said. Without turning around he asked, "What was all that about?"

"Seth was hungry because Ryan stole his food."

"Ryan what?"

"Stole his food. Yeah, I don't believe him, but whatever. Let's just go back to sleep…"

"DADDY!!!" Ryan yelled as he catapulted into the room. He leaped onto the bed, landing on Sandy, Seth trailing sleepily behind.

Ryan bounced up and down on the edge of the bed while Seth crawled into it, and nuzzled in-between Kirsten and Sandy.

"Ryan…" groaned Sandy, rubbing the spot where Ryan had dug his knee into. "Do you know what time it is?"

"Yeah!" answered Ryan excitedly, "Power Rangers is going to be on in 10 minutes and you promised you'd watch it with me!"

"Mommy, help me, he won't stop moving." Seth said, drawing the covers closer to himself, hoping they would protect him from the beds violent shaking.

"Right…Power Rangers…" Sandy said, trying to remember. Well, he did say he would…

"Common daddy! Were gonna miss it!!"

"Yeah, go on daddy, your going to miss it!" Kirsten said teasingly, grabbing Seth, and borrowing deeper into the covers.

Looking regretfully at his other son and his wife, nice and warm in the bed, he threw on a sweater and went down with Ryan to the family room. The half hour that Power Rangers was on passed slowly, while Ryan tried to explain what the different people did.

He would say something like, "And Rondo's the one in the red, and he works as an architect. He's my favorite, and the Apondo's that one that in the yellow, and he likes a girl called Mary, but Mary's the captain of the Vinegar…" and Sandy would be sitting there, lost for all the world, wondering which one Rondo was. When it was over, the two of them went to the kitchen and started making bacon and eggs. Ryan set the table and got out the eggs and bacon while Sandy did all the real cooking. Kirsten and Seth soon came down, lured by the delicious smells. Kirsten, promising she would watch the bacon, told Ryan and Sandy to go upstairs and change.

When they came back, they saw smoke rising up from the pan. Worried, Sandy rushed over, and Kirsten turned around looking alarmed at the burning bacon.

"I thought you said you were going to watch it." Said Sandy, flipping the bacon on the other side before any more damage could be done. Ryan went off to find Seth, so they could start eating as soon as the food was done.

"I was watching it," Kirsten protested. "But then I saw this morning's crossword, and I knew the first 5, and I kinda..."

"Forgot about it?" Sandy sighed. Kirsten had never been one interested in any form of food. "No harm done, the boys love burnt stuff." Sandy said, sticking his tongue out childishly at Kirsten.

"Mommy, daddy stuck his tongue out!" Ryan tattled, walking behind Seth, who was holding a plastic bird.

"That's because daddy's being a bad boy," Kirsten said sternly, while Sandy hung his head in false modesty. Ryan and Seth giggled, taking their places at the table. When they were finished eating, Ryan and Seth were shooed into the playroom in the basement. Both Sandy and Kirsten went upstairs; Sandy making phone calls, and Kirsten cleaning about.

"Sandy, don't you think its time to check on the boys?"

"Kirsten, they have a Playstation down there. What trouble do you think they can get in?"

"You have a point, but…" Kirsten trailed off, her mouth hanging as she looking behind Sandy. Two grey children were standing behind him, smiling hopefully. Something in her brain clicked.

"Sandy…" Kirsten said slowly, "what did you do with those spare bags of cement we had down there?"

"Oh, those old things. I was planning to get rid of them next week or something."

"Um… Sandy, look behind you." Sandy turned to find Seth and Ryan, both covered from head to toe with grey, smoky cement. "Oh no…"

Glancing at Kirsten, he picked up Ryan and carried him to the bathroom, while Kirsten did the same with Seth. Plopping both of them into the bath tub, Sandy turned on the shower head and sprayed. The cement turned from light, powdery grey to dark, sticky grey. Kirsten grabbed the brush, and scrubbed furiously.

"Ouch! Mommy, that hurt," complained Ryan, as Kirsten tried to scrub off an incredibly stubborn patch of cement.

"Don't you start complaining!" Kirsten said threateningly, "You're lucky you're not in trouble anyways!"

"They aren't," whispered Sandy into Kirsten's slightly wet ear.

"No," Kirsten whispered back. "Because it's your fault in the first place that the bags were still there!"

"Opps," was all Sandy could say back.

Sandy grinned as he continued spraying the boys with water. When they were all nice and soaking clean, he left Kirsten to give them a lecture about playing with things that shouldn't be played with while he went to fetch some cloths.

**Please R&R and tell me what you think! Oh, and just a question of interest, what does AU mean?**


	3. Newport Beach

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything OCish, so don't sue me! **

**I'm thinking of adding in Marissa a little later, because Sandy and Kirsten still live in Bronx, hence the reason Kirsten doesn't work. I don't think this story has any real plot, just little Ryan and little Seth running around, having fun. There will be stuff happening later on, but for now, its Seth and Ryan toddlers! If that's a plot, so be it :P **

**Thanks for all the Reviews and thank you sooo much for telling me that AU stands for Alternate Universe. And I'm guessing this story is an AU, so yeah…**

**Chapter 3 **

**Newport Beach**

"But we don't wanna leave!" cried Seth, straining against the buckle of the car seat.

"For the last time, it's not your choice Seth. You're going wherever I and Sandy go." Kirsten said.

"I don't wanna go either. Why do I have to go?" Ryan complained, joining Seth in the struggle against the buckles.

"Ryan, don't talk back to your mom. We're all going. Period. We're all going to have fun with Grandma and Grandpa. Got it?"

Ryan stopped squirming for a second. "Grandpa scares me."

Kirsten took her eyes off the road and looked behind her. "What? Why does Grandpa scare you? Did he do anything?"

"No… he just, doesn't like me…"

"That's ridicules! Of course he likes you, why else did he-"

"Kirsten! Watch out!" Sandy yelled, grabbing the steering wheel and yanking it back to the right side of the road. A blue mini-van sped by at the last second.

"Sorry everyone." Kirsten said, returning her eyes to the road.

Sandy was worried. Kirsten hadn't been herself since the phone call from her dad, telling her that her mother had cancer. Sandy and Kirsten talked, and decided that they would move temporally to Newport Beach, to be there to support her mother. They didn't tell the boys that Grandma had cancer only that they were going on a visit. At fist they were excited, but what would have been an easy 2 hour flight became a hot, short-tempered 2 day drive, because of Ryan's newly developed fear of heights. They were in their second day, and every time that Sandy suggested he should drive, Kirsten shook her head and only drove faster.

"Can we go to Dairy Queen for lunch?" Asked Seth, inspired by a big bulletin board what read, "Dairy Queen, exit ½ a mile".

Kirsten looked at the clock. It was 3 o'clock in the afternoon. She'd been driving for 4 hours, stopping only twice for "potty breaks". "Alright, but we'll order take-out and eat on the road."

"Honey, if you're going to do that, can you at least let me drive? You look tired…"

"Oh, alright all ready. Just drive fast ok?"

"Sure." Sandy watched as Kirsten put her foot on the pedal, accelerating to 150 km/h.

When they got to the Dairy Queen, they discovered that it had an inside playground.

"Can we go play on it mommy? Please!" "Yeh, common daddy, let us go play!"

Kirsten only shook her head no. She was hoped to get her parents house, which was about 700 k away and if she wanted to get there by midnight, there was no time to lose.

After they ordered their food, Kirsten sent the boys away with Sandy to wash their hands, while she went to find themselves a seat. 5 minutes later, a worried Sandy came back with no kids.

"Kirsten, have you seen Ryan and Seth anywhere?"

"No… Sandy, you were supposed to be watching them, where did they go?"

"I don't know, I was in the bathroom, and when I came out, they were gone! I told them to stay put, but do they listen, no!"

Sandy and Kirsten both started searching around the small fast food restaurant. When they came to the in-side park, they heard distressed wailing coming from the top. They looked up to see Ryan, screaming his lungs out, Seth trying to calm him down, yelling louder and louder to be heard over Ryan.

"Ryan," Seth whispered, getting Ryan's attention by tugging on the miniature hoodies sleeve.

Ryan glanced at Seth, and was about to ask what he wanted, when Seth put his finger to his mouth. Pointing at the door, Ryan immediately got the idea. Hearing Sandy flush the toilet, Ryan followed quickly after Seth.

"Seth, you wanna go to the park right?"

Seth grinned, and Ryan led the way to the colorful tower of diversion. Slipping into the entrance when the supervisor wasn't looking, the kids started climbing up the slippery, foamy slant. Reaching the landing, they looked this way and that at the different directions they could take. It was like kid heaven. The landing had 4 exits leading out of it, bumps, pillars, mazes, you name it, and all somewhere out there ready to be over come. "Common," Seth said, taking the left exit, which had purple foam sticking out of the walls. Dogging the foam playfully, Seth now led the way, up rope ladders, through yellow plastic tunnels, going higher and higher until they couldn't go any higher. They were about to slide down to the bottom, when Ryan happened to look through the safety nets.

"DADDY!!! DADDY!! HELP ME!!! AHHHHHH! MOMMY! DADDY! HELP!!" Ryan screamed, his feet giving way, tears starting to stream down his face.

"Ryan?!" Seth looked around startled. When he realized Ryan was on the ground crying, he tried to comfort him. "RYAN! Ryan, look, were not that high up, it's only like, 20 meters up," Seth said, exaggerating. "Even if you do fall, you're not going to die. I mean, you might die, but it won't hurt. But if you die, you won't see mommy or daddy again, and," but this only made Ryan scream all the harder. This resulted in Seth screaming louder as well.

"RYAN, LOOK AT ALL THE PEOPLE, THEIR TINY. THEY LOOK LIKE ANTS; WE MUST BE REALLY HIGH UP. BUT DON'T WORRY, YOUR NOT GOING TO FALL, THERES SAFTEY NETS, SEE!" To prove his point, Seth leaned against the side, and popped back. Ryan, noticing that Seth's comments were about dieing and ants, wailed all the harder.

By now, there was a large crowd gathering at the base, everyone looking up to see if it was their kid up there, screaming and causing such a commotion. Sandy and Kirsten looked horrified at each other. They would recognize their boys' voices anywhere. Sandy was about to start climbing up to get them, when Kirsten slid in before him. She scrambled up the foamy slant, and dodged through the pads. It took her about 30 seconds to get to the top, and sweep screaming Ryan into her arms.

"Ryan, shhh, its all right, mommy's here, don't worry."

Ryan looked up and saw Kirsten holding him. He decreased his screaming volume slightly. "Mommy, I'm gonna DIE!"

This comment hit Kirsten hard. "Ryan, you're not going to die, and stop saying that. Die is a very strong word…" She swallowed fresh tears as thoughts about her mom came into her head. "Common, lets go down the slide!" She suggested with fake enthusiasm.

"But I'm scared!"

"Common Ryan, its not that scary! Look!" Seth said, as he jumped into the slide, 'Wopee!"ing all the way down.

"AHHHHHHH! SETHS FALLING!!"

"Ryan, Seth's not falling, he's having fun! Nothing's going to happen if you come down. You'll be fine!"

"Fun?" Ryan asked.

"Fun," Kirsten confirmed. "Look, daddy and Seth are waiting down there. Don't you wanna see them?"

"Yeh…" Ryan replied, still curled up in Kirsten's arms. "Will you come down with me?" He looked hopefully into Kirsten's eyes.

"Yes, we'll go together. Ready?" Kirsten carried Ryan over to the mouth of the slide, her arms about to fall off. She sat down and placed Ryan on her lap. "One, two, three!" She pushed herself down the slide, enjoying the 5 second slide to the bottom. When she arrived at the bottom, she carried Ryan over to Sandy, and placed Ryan in his arms. Ryan hugged Sandy's neck as Sandy patted his back. The crowd didn't know how to react. Some people clapped, and some others just looked away. Kirsten grabbed Seth's hand and their food, and led the way to the car, Ryan sobbing into Sandy's shoulder.

When Ryan and Seth were buckled into the car, Sandy got into the drivers seat and started on his way, Kirsten hand feeding him fries. In the back, Seth handed Ryan his kid's meal toy.

"Thanks," Ryan whispered, and put his head on Seth's shoulder. When Kristen and Sandy looked back a little while later, the two boys were sleeping soundly, Ryan on Seth, and Seth against the window.

Sandy shook Kirsten awake as they entered the huge gated community. It took Kirsten a second to get her mind straight. Looking at the clock, she saw it was midnight. Just as Sandy pulled up the drive-way to a house that was 10 times bigger then their old one, the light flicked on. Three people came out, a tall person, with a half-bald head, one with a hat on, and another that was both shorter and younger then the two others. Kirsten recognized these as her mom, dad, and little sister, Hailey. Kirsten got out of the car a split second after Sandy had stopped it.

"Hey," she said, hugging her mom, crying.

"Hello," said Alice back, hugging her daughter just as hard. Sandy came up and shook hands with Caleb.

"Hello Caleb," he said, loathing himself for being so polite.

"Hello, Sanford." Caleb said just as politely, though it was the distaste these two had toward each other was obvious.

He turned to Hailey and hugged her. "Hailey." "Sandy."

When Kirsten had detached self from Alice, Sandy went over to hug her too, while Kirsten hugged Caleb and Hailey.

"Mommy?" came a scared voice from the car.

Kirsten grinned, despite her tears. "Guess the kids are up." She started for the car, until Hailey stopped her.

"I'll go get them Kirsten, you guys go in. I'll put them to bed, if that's all right. You and Sandy can join them later"

"Thanks Hailey," smiled Kirsten as the four of them went inside.

**Please Read and Review, tell me whatcha think! Oh, and Marissa and Summer are going to be in the next chapter, so that should be fun to write :P**


	4. Pirate Games

**Well, this is the fourth chapter, and yeh… I think it's the longest one yet!**

**Disclaimer : I don't own anything OCish, cept maybe a poster, that took forever to find!**

Chapter 4

**Pirate Games**

Seth sniffed. Bacon. He liked bacon. He opened his eyes and saw Sandy's back, slowly moving with every breath. He turned around and came face to face with Ryan, whose blue eyes were also open. He grinned. Ryan grinned back; the events yesterday vanished from his mind. Behind Ryan was Kirsten, hugging Ryan, eyes still closed in sleep. Ryan and Seth silently got up, as they usually did back in their house in the Bronx. The headed down the big stairs, both wide awake. When they came to the kitchen, they saw Hailey cooking,

"Bacon!" Seth shouted, far too loud for so early in the morning.

Hailey turned around, surprised that the kids were up. "Hey you two, sleep good?"

"Yeh, except daddy snores to loud!" Ryan said, quieter then Seth, rubbing his eyes and overcoming a yawn.

Hailey laughed. She loved these kids, though she wouldn't want any of her own. "So, what are you guys planning to do today?" She took out three plates and piled on bacon and started cutting a bagel up for them.

"I dunno… What are you doing Aunty Hailey?"

"Oh, nothing much. Would you two like to come to the beach with me today?" she asked. The plan was for her to take the boys to the beach, while Kirsten and her parents 'caught up' with each other.

"Is grandpa going with us?" Ryan asked worried.

"No, he isn't. Why do you ask?"

"Cause he scares me…"

Hailey laughed again. These kids really gave her a kick. "So you two are in for the beach?"

"Yeh!" "Yuppers!"

She placed the plates on the table, and gave each kid half a bagel. Ryan and Seth dug into their meals, only stopping to complain that the food was too hot. They were mid-way through their meal when Sandy and Kirsten walked in, yawning and all.

"What did you make Hailey?" Kirsten asked.

"Bacon. Help your self."

"Mmmm, I love bagels. You know who else loves bagels?" Sandy asked.

"NANA DOES!" screamed Seth. Sandy asked this question almost every morning, the answer always the same.

Kirsten and Sandy started piling food onto their plates, while Seth described the 'Nana' to Hailey in an echoing voice.

"She's big, and she has curly hair, and she's wrinkly, and she wears suits and stuff, and she works with kids, and she find homes for them and stuff, and sometimes she gets grumpy, like when she finds out daddy eats bagels during that time when he's not supposed to eat, and then Uncle Mattie looks like daddy, and he has spiky hair, and he has a mustache, and he…" Seth continued rambling as Hailey pretended to be interested.

A couple minutes later, Caleb walked in with Alice.

"Who was screaming in the morning? Doesn't anyone sleep around here?" He asked, grumpy as usual.

"Oh, give the kids a break Cal, their only toddlers!"

"Grandma! Grandpa!" Screamed Seth, stopping in the middle of his explanation, jumping down from chair. He ran into Alice's arms, hugging with all his might.

Ryan too got out of his chair, but more slowly, deliberately taking his time getting to Caleb. "Hello Grandpa…" he said quietly.

"Hello Ryan, how're you doing?" Caleb asked politely squatting down to Ryan's level. Something about this kid wasn't right.

"All right I guess."

"How was your trip? Did you do anything fun?"

"No." Looking around, seeing that Alice had let go of Seth, he ran into her arms as well.

"Grandma!" he said happily. He squeezed her as hard as Seth had. Seth, meanwhile, ran over to Caleb.

"Guess what Grandpa?"

"What?" Caleb asked, playing along with Seth.

"Aunty Hailey's taking us to the beach!"

"Oh, is she?"

"Yeh! Can we go daddy?" Ryan interrupted.

"Of course you can Ryan. Let me go find your guys' swim trunks, and your noodles. Do you want to take anything else with you?" Sandy said, knowing that the beach stuff was already laid out.

"Can we have a bucket and shovels? We can make a pirate ship!" Seth said excitedly, bouncing around the kitchen.

"Hm… I don't think we have any Seth." Sandy said thoughtfully.

Seth stopped in mid bounce and ran into the table, and fell on the floor. For a second he looked like he was going to cry, either from pain or from disappointment.

"Nonsense Sandy," Alice interrupted, while Hailey went to help Seth, "we have some in the back, don't we Caleb?"

"Oh yes, those old things. Sure, why not, you can take those."

Sandy went off the collect the items, while Caleb innocently started conversation.

"So, Kirsten how've you been. Living in that…" Caleb couldn't find the word.

"Living in Bronx you mean? It's been terrific!"

"What kind of house do you live in now?"

"Oh, you know the same old one. We don't get that much, because Sandy's in the PD's office, and I don't work because I have to take care of the kids, but you know, we manage." She hoped her father would start steering away from financial matters. She knew how he disapproved, living the way they had been in the Bronx.

Luckily, she was interrupted with Sandy coming back with a duffle bag.

"I put some sun-screen in their, and theirs a couple of snacks, and a pack of bottled water, so you should be fine for a little while. If the kids get hungry, just bring them back here, and we'll all eat together," Sandy was confidant that Ryan and Seth wouldn't admit they were hungry before at least 3 hours.

"How about if their hungry, Hailey takes them somewhere to eat. Here's some money," Caleb placed 7 twenty dollar bills in Hailey's hand. Sandy glared at Caleb, who only pretended he didn't notice.

It took 20 minutes to get them in the car and rolling. With a lot of 'Bye bye!'s' Hailey pulled the car out of the driveway, and started to the beach.

The beach was full of people, and Hailey had difficulty finding a spot. Just as she saw a empty spot, someone would sweep in and place their towel where she wanted to go.

"Hailey!" Hailey looked around wildly for the person who was calling her name. When she could see no one, she dismissed it as someone else who had the same name as her. "Hailey!" the voice shouted again. "Hailey Nichol." 'Ok,' she thought to herself, 'now I'm really losing it.' Then she saw someone jumping up and down, waving his hands.

Hailey smiled. It could only be Jimmy. Leading Ryan and Seth over, she placed the three towels in the empty space beside him.

"Well well, Jimmy Copper. I'll be." Hailey embraced Jimmy, who hugged back. "How ya been Jimmy? Long time no see!"

"Yeh, well, you know, life is life. Are these yours?" He asked, in reference to Ryan and Seth who were helping each other take their t-shirts off.

Before Hailey could answer, Seth said, "Aunty Hailey, Ryan's head is stuck."

Hailey laughed and helped Seth pull Ryan's head from the hole.

"Can we go play now Aunty?" Ryan asked, looking around for someone their age.

"Alright, put sun-screen on first, and tell me where your gonna be, ok?" But the kids were already squeezing sun-screen on each other, too busy making designs to answer.

Hailey returned her attention to Jimmy. She looked behind him, and saw a red-haired lady on a stretcher, supervising a baby playing in the sand. "Oh, that's Kaitlin; she's a year old. And that's my wife, Julie Copper, remember?" Jimmy said, noticing that Hailey was looking.

"Aww, how cute! Where's…" Hailey struggled to pull the name out of her memory.

"Marissa? She's out playing in the water with Summer." Jimmy grinned. "So, were those Kirsten's kids?"

"Yeh, Ryan and Seth. Ryan's the one with blue eyes, and Seth's the one with curly hair. And from what I hear, their a handful!"

Ryan walked up to her and tugged on her sleeve. "We're gonna go play in the sand, alright Aunty Hailey?" While he was talking, Seth grabbed all the shovels and buckets he could carry.

"All right," Hailey said, ruffling Ryan's dirty blonde hair, "Just tell me if you wanna go somewhere else ok?"

Ryan nodded and went to help Seth with the toys. "And don't move anywhere!" Hailey shouted to their retreating backs.

"So, how you've been Hailey? Last time I saw you, you were going to Mexico. What brings you back to Newport?" Jimmy asked, as they both sat down by Julie's legs.

"So, I was thinking we should make 2 pillars right here, and here," Ryan said, marking the spots with his foot. "And then, we can make the walls, and it'll look like a ship!" Ryan had been interested in making things since he was 2. Whenever Seth was playing a one-player game on the playstation, Ryan would take out the Lego blocks, and make amazing structures. Amazing that is, for a 4 and ½ year old.

Him and Seth started stuffing the buckets with damp sand, and piling them on top each other to make tall pillars. When they reached about the height of their stomachs, they stopped. Looking at their handy-work, they pilled sand in curves from and to the pillars, to make a boat shape. Running back to where Hailey was still chatting with Jimmy, they grabbed their noodles, and decided to start up a game of pirates.

"Seth, if we're the pirates, who are our prisoners?"

Ryan was stumped. He looked around, and spotted two girls playing at the water's edge. "Look Seth," he said, pointing them out. "They would be perfect!" They started walking down the sand, when Seth stopped.

"Ryan," he whispered. "Look, see the girl on the right? Isn't she pretty?"

Ryan looked, but didn't see anything special. "Seth, it's just a girl! Girls are icky!" He continued on his way.

When he reached the girls, they both looked up, peering at the new-comers. Ryan decided to start the conversation. "Hi, I'm Ryan, and this is Seth. We were playing pirates, and we were wondering if you wanted to be our prisoners."

Neither Summer nor Marissa looked thrilled at the idea. "What do you mean? Like, go play in the sand, and get all dirty? Ew!" Summer said.

"What's your name?" Seth asked, staring at Summer.

"Summer, and this is Marissa, and if you think we're going to go play with you, think again, because boys have cooties!"

Marissa considered. "Common Sum' it might be fun." She then turned to Ryan, while Seth continued to gaze at Summer. "If you're going to be pirates, where's your ship?"

"Come and see!" Ryan said. He turned and once again led the way back to their ship. Pretty soon, they had a game of Pirates going on, the pirates (Seth and Ryan) chasing the convicts (Summer and Marissa) around the beach. Seth got so into the game, that he tackled Marissa, and started whacking her with his noodle.

Hailey's discussion with Jimmy was cut short, a scream filling the air. Screams around Newport Beach were considered normal, but this one Jimmy recognized as Marissa's.

"Marissa!" he yelled, looking around to locate his kid.

"Jimmy, look!" Hailey grabbed his sleeve, and turned him around to a very comical scene for any passer-Byers.

There was screaming, crying Marissa, covered in sand lying on the ground, while above her, wielding a dry, neon pink noodle, was Seth.

"I've got you this time!" Seth yelled, continuing to whack defenseless Marissa until Hailey pulled him off her. She caught Ryan by the shoulder as he ran by, pursuing Summer.

"What do you two think your doing? Especially you Seth. You don't just go and whack people with noodles, no matter what you're playing!"

"But we were playing pirates," protested Ryan. "I didn't do anything wrong."

"Yeh," Seth said, "besides, Ryan was the first one to whack Summer with a noodle, so I thought it was ok… It's not my fault I got the one that screams the most."

Hailey continued to hold tight to both of them. "Is she alright?" She asked Jimmy who was questioning Marissa a little ways off.

"Yeh, she's fine. She said they were playing pirates, and she was trying to make it 'believable'."

Hailey sighed. _This_ was why she didn't want kids. "All right you two go get the buckets, and we're going home."

"Aww, but Aunty Hailey, we just got here!"

Hailey looked at her watch. Just got here, yeh right! They'd been here for 3 hours. "I said, go-get-your-stuff." She gave them a look that she hoped meant that she meant business, and they rushed off.

"Sorry Jimmy. I've gotta take them home," she said, walking back with Jimmy to where they're blankets were. "I know they were just playing," she said, off the look he gave her, "but Seth was _whacking_ Marissa with a noodle."

Jimmy nodded, chuckling silently, making Hailey grin as well.

Ryan and Seth came back from their 'ship' and Hailey put everything back into the bag. "Into the car you two," she said sternly.

"Now, I'll make you a deal. When we get home, you go to your room, and you stay there until you're called for lunch ok?"

Ryan and Seth nodded from the back seat, clearly upset with what they'd done.

The ride home was uneventful, unless you count Seth getting the whole car dirty with sand, from his feet and hands. When they got home, Seth and Ryan went immediately up to the room they were staying in, just as Hailey had asked.

"What's with them?" Kirsten asked, looking worriedly after them. Kirsten, Hailey, and Sandy who had just joined them, moved to the kitchen, which was filled with the smell of a freshly baked cake.

"Oh, nothing. I told them to go to the room because they were smacking Summer and Marissa with noodles," Hailey answered. "Ohhh, these look good…" She hesitated before taking a bit of the cake. "Who made this?"

"Mom did. They did _what_?" Kirsten asked shocked.

"Mmmm, it's so good," she noticed Kirsten looking at her. "They were smacking Marissa and Summer with their noodles." She repeated casually.

Kirsten just stood their, hand on the table, mouth open. "With 'noodles'?" she managed.

Hailey nodded her head, grabbing more cake.

"I think we better go talk to them Kirsten…" Sandy said, starting toward the stairs. Kirsten followed.

When they got to the room, they found the door was shut. They knocked and opened the door, finding Seth and Ryan, shoulder to shoulder, looking up at the ceiling.

"Mommy," Seth said as he sat up.

"Did Aunty Hailey tell you?" Ryan asked, also sitting up.

"Yes, she did." Kirsten replied while she went with Sandy to sit down with them.

"She did tell us, and we want to know why you did it." Sandy said.

"Well, it was just a game, and we didn't want to hurt anyone…" Ryan said, leaning his back against Seth's, facing Kirsten.

"Well, hitting people isn't the answer for anything. Would you like to tell us what happened?"

"Well," Seth started, "Ryan made this really cool pirate ship, and we needed someone to play the prisoners, so we went up to that pretty girl and Marissa, and we asked them to play."

"They agreed," Ryan continued, "and we went off to play. They were really good prisoners! They ran away and let us chase them and stuff. I couldn't catch Summer, so I hit her with the noodle,"

Seth interrupted Ryan at this point, "and then I tried it on Marissa, but she screamed… loud!"

"We're sorry," they ended together.

Kirsten and Sandy looked at each other. Sandy nodded.

"We get that you were only playing, and that you were just having fun, but you never, ever, ever, hit people. With anything. Got that?" Kirsten said. Before Ryan and Seth could reply, the doorbell rang.

"Oh yeh!" they heard Hailey shout, "Jimmy coming over for lunch with his family!"

"Now, when you see Marissa, I want you both to apologize, and say you're sorry. All right?" Sandy said.

"All right," they told them meekly.

They all got up, and with Ryan and Seth in front, ruffling their hair along the way, they walked down to the kitchen to meet the Coopers.

**Well, there's Marissa and Summer. And all the Coopers. Please R&R, and thanks for all the reviews last time! **


	5. Hide and Seek

**5/5 Hide-and-Seek**

Ryan passed the ball to Seth.

Seth caught it, and passed it to Ryan.

Ryan caught it, and passed it to Seth.

Seth caught it, and passed it to Ryan.

Who didn't catch it, let it bounce away, and announced, "I'm bored." "You wanna play Playstation?" he asked after a minute of thought.

"No, mommy said no video games."

"You wanna go out and play in the pool?"

"No, mommy said stay inside."

"You wanna go watch a movie?"

"No, mommy said no television."

"Seth!" Ryan whined. He took a pillow from the couch and threw it at him.

"What?" Seth protested, catching it. "It isn't my fault you decided to stick a banana down the tub drain!"

"But I'm bored!" Ryan said like it explained everything. He started picking on the loose threads in the couch. "There isn't anything to do."

"That's not true." But as far as Seth knew, it was true. Kirsten had caught Ryan stuffing a peeled banana down the upstairs drain, Seth behind him, and ordered them to stay in the living room while she looked through the phone book trying to find a plumber.

"Really? Then what is there to do?" Ryan asked, changing position and looking up at the high ceiling.

"Um…" Seth bit his lip and looked out the window for inspiration. "We could play hide and seek."

Ryan turned to face Seth, thinking. "Yeah…" he said slowly. "Okay… but whose it?" he asked, his hand instantly shooting to his nose. Seth did the same, but a second too late.

"You're it!" Ryan shouted, laughing, jumping off the couch.

"That wasn't fair!" Seth protested. "You knew when you were going to say it!"

"Doesn't matter! Start counting!"

Seth grumbled to himself, but nonetheless crouched against the couch, hiding his eyes.

Ryan giggled as Seth began to start counting, running upstairs, careful to avoid the kitchen, where Kirsten's voice was coming from.

Ryan ran around the floor, looking for somewhere to hide. He opened the door to the bathroom, and jumped into the tub, closing the curtains. His eyes drifted to the mashed up banana still stuck in the drain and hoped back out. 'Maybe not there…'

He closed the door to the bathroom quietly, leaving it a little open, hoping that Seth would still think that he'd hidden there. He ran to the room him and his family shared, but there was nothing there other then a folded out bed and a small table. He ran to the closet, and looked inside. There were all his clothes, mostly his moms and dads, but the closet was shallow, so there was nowhere to hid.

Next he tried a guest bedroom that was painted purple. There was nothing there but a couple of flowers and a hid-away bed that had been folded to a couch. Seth's voice floated up from the living room, "Thirty- Thirty-one- Thirty-two…"

The game went to fifty, and Ryan didn't have much time left to find somewhere. He ran back down the stairs as quietly as he could, and checked in the living room to see if Seth was peeking. Which he wasn't.

He ran into his grandparent's room, and stood there for a moment. If his grandfather caught him in here, he would probably get in trouble… but Seth was close to reaching fifty, and he needed to find a place to hid. He ran and slid under the bed, which didn't work, because it was solid.

Slightly panicking, he opened the door to the closet, his second option being the patio doors that led to the balcony. No one ever said anything about insides only. 'Cept, he wasn't supposed to go outside, cause mommy was mad at him for shoving the banana down the drain…

It was a good thing that the closet was spacious. There was a bag fixed on a hanger that he was sure would hold his weight, and the zipper was all the way at the bottom. He placed a foot into it, testing how much weight it would hold.

A small rip sounded out, but other then that it seemed safe. He stepped fully into it and curled up, zipping the zipper as high as he could reach. It was dark, but it wasn't that high off the ground. There were all types of dresses in it, so he assumed that it was his grandmothers. He heard another rip, and started getting a little scared.

-----

"Forty-nine, Fifty! Ready or not, here I come!" Seth screamed.

"Seth, I'm on the phone sweetie, could you try and be a little more quite?" Kirsten called from the kitchen.

"Yup!" Seth yelled back, and jumped onto the couch. "Found you!" he yelled triumphantly, poking his head over the top of the couch.

"Seth! Please?" Kirsten called from the kitchen.

"Sorry," he muttered, scrunching his eyebrows. "Ryan…" he called out softly. "Where are you?"

He opened the door to the linen closet, shutting it when he determined that there was no Ryan.

He reached the stairs, avoiding the kitchen like Ryan had, and ran up them excitedly. Of course Ryan was upstairs!

He started at the end of the hall, opening the doors. The first one was just a spare room, with nothing in it but a bunch of boxes. He ran inside and opened the only open one up, looking inside. There was nothing inside but a couple of Christmas decorations. He looked behind the boxes, but couldn't find anything more.

He skipped the next couple of doors, knowing that they weren't allowed to play inside them, and pushed open the ajar door to the bathroom. The curtain was closed, and Seth grinning.

"I found you," he taunted in a singy-song voice. He ripped open the curtain, but there was nothing but tiled wall greeting him. "Shucks…" he muttered, glancing quickly at the mutilated banana.

He left the bathroom, and opened the door to their room, finding nothing interesting there. He checked under the covers just incase, but the pillows where in fact, only pillows.

A little discouraged, he wandering into the room beside it. This room he thought was the coolest room in the house. It was painting a type of pale purple, and there was a great big tree right outside the window, which technically belonged to the people that lived beside them. It reminded him of his and Ryan's room back in the Bronx, though it was a lot higher up from the ground then that one had been.

He jumped up and leaned against the windowsill for a moment, smiling at the view. If he turned just a little, he could see the bright blue ocean and the shimmering sand. There was only one car in the driveway below, and he knew that it was his moms.

He let his dangling feet fall to the ground, but snagged the wrist of his Spiderman hoodie in the process. He ripped it away from the window, but tore off a little red piece of fabric in the process. He looked at it with watering eyes and a quivering lip.

He was about to start crying when he heard Kirsten call, "Seth, Ryan, where are you?"

Completely forgetting about the rip on his hoodie, or the view from the room, Seth went bounding down the stairs. "Shh!" he whispered at his mum.

Kirsten was surprised, but played along. "Where's Ryan? I told you two to stay in the living room," she whispered.

"Shh!" Seth warned, giggling. "Ryan's hiding, but we don't know where he is yet!"

Kirsten's thoughts immediately turned to all the things that could go wrong with this situation. She crouched down so that she and Seth were at the same level. "What do you mean, he's hiding!"

"Mum! Shh!" Seth scolded, placing a finger on his lips.

It took every ounce of strength Kirsten had not to roll her eyes in adornment at the five-year old who was telling her off. "So then, lets go find him. I need to speak with him."

"But mommy," Seth protested, "You're not allowed to help me find him! Those are the rules!"

"Fine," Kirsten answered gently, a tad confused about how distressed Seth was getting. She knew it was better for him to just have his fun with Ryan, then try and interrupt their game in the middle. "When you find him, can you please bring him to the kitchen for me?"

"Okay!" Seth said brightly. "Go! I need to find him by myself!"

"I'm going, I'm going!" Kirsten replied, doing a light jog into the kitchen just to please Seth. She opened the fridge and got herself an Ice Tea, and took out some carrots and peas for the boys when they got into the kitchen.

Seth in the meanwhile searched the foyer, behind the coat rack and in the closet. But Ryan wasn't in there. His eyes drifted around the big room, looking for a spot where Ryan could be hiding. He went up the single step, and held a huge column with one hand. "Ryan?" he asked.

He'd almost run out of places to look… almost.

His eyes wandered to the hallway that led to his grandparents' room. "Ryan?" he called out timidly. He wouldn't have got into there, would he have?

He hesitantly took small steps toward it, looking around each nook to see if Ryan was there. "Ryan?" he called out again, letting the 'n' keep going.

He put his hand on the doorknob, ready to turn it.

-------------------

Ryan was stuck. His back was making the big hanger bag sag at the bottom, and the repetitive ripping sound was making him nervous.

He heard Kirsten start questioning Seth in the kitchen, but couldn't make out the words, only distant sounds. He tried to wiggle around, but Seth was coming closer, and he didn't want to be found. He stayed still, looking up the length of the bag.

He heard his name called out, only hearing the '-ann' part of it. A big rip sounded out and he fearfully looked up at the hanger bag.

"Seth!" he shouted out, his voice unnaturally high.

Seth opened the door, and the next thing he knew, Ryan was screaming, accompanied by a ripping sound and a loud _thump_. "Ryan?" he called out, and ran to the place where the sound had come from.

He opened the door to his grandparents' deep closet. "Ryan?" he questioned, looking inside.

His grandma was a clean lady. She liked things nice, tidy, and organized. It didn't seem natural for a big black lumpy bag to be sprawled out on the ground, especially not when that big black lumpy bag moved.

Seth could hear muffled crying coming from the bag so he dropped down to his knees and tried to find the opening. "Ryan?"

A blonde head popped out of the zippers, stained with tears.

"Found you?" Seth announced uncertainly.

"Seth," Ryan sniffled, "Get mom…"

Kirsten was already making a beeline for the room, having heard the sound all the way from the kitchen. "What happened in here?" she screeched when she saw Ryan lying on the floor tangled up in what looked like… her mothers Dust-Away?

"Mommy!" Seth exclaimed thankfully.

"Seth, what happened?" she demanded, and Seth looked fearfully up to her.

"I don't know. I came in here and hear a loud noise, and now Ryan's hurt…"

Kirsten ran to Ryan, and dropped down beside him, untangling him from the dresses and bag.

"Ryan, honey," she said, trying to sooth him. He crawled into her lap and curled up like a baby, holding onto her shirt. "What happened?" she asked softly, and Seth grabbed onto her shoulder, looking over.

"It- it broke," Ryan stuttered out, and Kirsten looked at the mangled mess. She could _see_ that much.

"Why were you in it in the first place?" Kirsten asked. She knew hide-and-seek sounded like a bad idea.

"We- we were playing, and- you told me not to go- go outside," he sniffled, "So- I hid there…"

"Good hiding place," Seth muttered over Kirsten's shoulder. "I don't think I would've ever found you."

"Seth," Kirsten started kindly. "Could you go and get the snacks I put out on the table and watch some TV? I think Power Ranchers is on."

"Pow-Power Rangers," Ryan corrected from her arms, and Seth nodded, leaving the room.

"Ryan, are you okay?"

Ryan whimpered and nodded, and Kirsten could tell that he was more upset and scared then anything.

"Is grandma going to get mad at me?" he asked.

"No, grandma's not going to get mad at you. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't say you're sorry when she gets home."

"I will."

"Do you want some chocolate milk?" Kirsten asked, and Ryan nodded, but didn't get up. She sighed silently, and lifted him up. He wrapped his arms around her neck, and started picking at a loose thread on the back of her sweater.

"I'm sorry I broke the bag thing," Ryan whispered into her ear.

Kirsten smiled at his serenity. She placed him on the counter corner, and looked him in the eye. "I know you are, Ryan. But from now on, no more playing in Grandma and Grandpa's room. Understood?"

Ryan nodded, and she went to go get a glass from the cupboard.

"While we're somewhat on the subject," Kirsten placed the cup down beside Ryan and began searching for the chocolate. "You can't just go around jamming random fruit anyplace you want to. This isn't your home, and that's why you have to respect it even more then if it was ours."

She turned back to Ryan, and he had his head down, playing dejectedly with his cup.

"I called the plumber," Kirsten continued, "But next time something like this happens, you're not going to get off this easy."

"Are you mad at me?" Ryan asked biting his lip. His voice was small, and he was trying not to cry.

"No, I'm not mad at you honey, you didn't know any better," Kirsten smiled, hugging him tightly.

"And you won't tell daddy about this?" he asked, wrapping his arms around her neck again.

Kirsten laughed to herself at how he was trying to get more from her. "No, I won't tell daddy, but only if it never happens again," she reassured. She lifted him up on her hip, and poured the milk in the cup. She added some chocolate, and let Ryan stir it with his own spoon. She gave the cup to him, and he held onto it tightly while she placed the spoon in the sink.

"I'm sorry," he repeated, as she placed him next to Seth on the couch.

"It's aright," she said again smiling.

He turned his attention to the Power Ranger episode Seth was watching, and Seth absentmindedly covered him with the blanket.

Seth offered him one of the carrots, and Ryan took it, eating it and chugging his chocolate milk down. He set the cup down on the table, and curled up beside Seth, sticking his feet behind him so that they'd stay warm.

Pretty soon, his eyes started drooping, and when Kirsten looked back at them from the kitchen, attracted by one of Seth's laughs, Ryan was asleep.

Kirsten smiled as she watched Ryan and Seth together. She loved them both so much, even though they were a handful at the best of times. But they didn't really mean any harm; they just wanted to have fun.

Cohen101 

**-**_The Troublesome Twosome-_

**A/N: Please don't kill me. Please review. Please don't hate me. I know that it's been like, a year and a little since I updated, so who knows when the next one will be up. **

**Strike what I said before. This story's not going to have any plotline. Just a bunch of Seth/Ryan fluff.**


	6. Kirsten and the Hospital

**The Hospital – Kirsten**

**A/N: I know, I know, and I'm not even going to bother…**

**On another note, this is from Kirsten's POV, and I hope you enjoy it. I'm really sorry, but this is going to be the only one in a looong time, and I'm sorry if any of you have been waiting to read an update, but this is pretty much fluff, and I'm not sure about whether or not there will be another update…**

**Enjoy :)**

There was a time in every mother's life when they felt like they had no idea what they were doing. What direction their life was taking, how their children would grow up; the time that they started pondering how past decisions affected how things were now. Things like, what would have happened if I let the boys get a dog named Rover? What would have happened if I them watch that scary alien movie they wanted so badly? And how would things have been different if I had just let them come with me and my husband instead of leaving them with my much younger, defiantly-not experienced sister, while me and Sandy enjoyed a romantic getaway in Barbados?

Looking out of the kitchen window that day, I had no idea what we would come back to. Never had a kid looked so blissfully happy then Ryan did in that moment, hanging by his ankles over the swimming pool, Hailey laughing at his playful shrieks.

Never had I seen a child look so prominently disregardful of danger and risk then when Seth took those running leaps and jumped bum first into the crystal clear water of the backyard pool.

Ryan splashed into the water with a scream, him and Seth crawling onto the deck seconds later to drag their 'Auntie Hails' into the pool with them. It wasn't like I didn't warn her to wear a swimming suit; she was just so stubbornly stubborn, still believing that she would make it out of the encounter dry.

Hailey screamed, instantly reminding me of the days when the three of us, her, me, and Jimmy-next-door hug out in a similar pool, the both of them dragging me in by my hands just as Seth and Ryan were, jumping into the pool and leaving the other helpless.

A cool breath on my neck made me jump briefly, not necessarily scared, just… caught off guard. That was the right word. Caught off guard.

"Scared you?"

Sandy wrapped his arms around my waist, and I smiled into the window. They would be alright if I dropped my gaze for a second, wouldn't they?

"Not one bit," I muttered back, turning around into his arms. Only five hours. Five hours until we left for the airport and would have three glorious days all to ourselves… only five hours to…

"Ew! Mommy and Daddy are being icky!"

Ah, how precious the four-year old vocabulary was. 'Icky'. Along with 'Ew'. This had most likely been learned from a certain someone's daughters' best friend.

"Uh, Kirsten, don't panic but-"

I snapped my head around the instant I heard Hailey speaking those words. How often had I heard them since my own childhood? Those words usually led up to our parents yelling at us, a consequence of something stupid either me or Hails had done. Or broken.

Ryan's body was hoisted onto Hailey's hip, and his face was scrunched up in pain that looked like the worst he'd ever experienced in his short life.

"Hailey," I demand, I can tell my tone's scaring her, "What happened?"

I can't help it. I glare at her, my protective motherly nature taking over as I take Ryan's ever growing body and turn his face to mine. The poor kid has close to tears in his eyes, and his bottom lip is quivering. He's holding his left arm gingerly, careful not to bump it into anything.

"Don't panic, but we were playing in the pool, and Ryan got up on the deck and started running around."

Ryan's lip starts quivering harder at the mention of his actions, and he refuses to look at me while Hailey finishes, "And I think he ran into the table or something, but the next thing I knew he was on the ground and I think he may have…"

"He can't move his hand," Seth adds excitedly, beaming up at me. The poor kid thinks that information like that is going to calm me down. Too bad I'm already inches away from hyperventilating.

"Ryan, oh God, Ryan are you okay?" I ask franticly, setting him down on the table despite Hailey's consistent voice in the background saying that everything's fine, and nothings wrong. At least Sandy's on the right track, spouting off information; I'm not the only one who sees the growing bump on Ryan's arm as a impending problem.

"We'll take him to the hospital, get an x-ray, see if everything's alright," Sandy says, to no one in particular, because Seth can't drive, Hailey's choosing to ignore the facts, and I'm completely preoccupied with Ryan, who I've set on the table.

I look into his eyes, which have widened to the size of ping-pong's from all the attention-slash-mayhem his small accident has caused. Sandy mutters something else about hospitals and x-rays and doctors, and suddenly Ryan's feeling a hella-lot better.

Ever since my mothers death, he'd been strangely weary of hospitals, so there's no way I'm going to take his word for it. "Does this hurt honey?" I ask, taking his arm gently and running my palm over the bone. If he says 'ow' in any shape of form, it's straight to the hospital.

He gives a half-shrug as if it's not that big of a deal, though his eyes are very obviously watering up. "Doesn't hurt that bad; we don't have to go to the hospital," he insists. He isn't wailing, which is doing wonders for my nerves. One way or another though, he'll end up in that Emergency Room within due time. I still don't believe that it doesn't hurt.

"Uh huh, I'm sure it doesn't."

"It doesn't!" he insists again, and I nod my head knowingly. Right now Ryan and Seth have been going through a phase (when I say Ryan and Seth it's because what Ryan does Seth does as well), where they will flatly refuse to do something if it's not within their comfort zone, or if they feel they're feeling forced into it. Something or another about their independence.

"Mommy knows that Ryan, honey, but," this was a surefire way to get him to agree to anything, him and Seth both. It worked like a golden charm, "But do you think you could maybe do this for me and Daddy? You know, as a favor? Just to show us how big and brave you are again?"

Sandy shakes his head at me over the table, getting ice from the fridge. He knows I can't resist adding in the 'again'.

"But I don't have to go!" he insists again, and I disregard every word he's saying, lifting him up off the counter and holding him close to me. My little baby's hurt and thinks that he's alright. Kids were odd now-a-days.

I kiss his nose and he pulls away stubbornly. "Please?" I plead again, "For Mommy and Daddy?"

Sandy comes up behind me, Seth trapped between the two of us for some reason. He hands me the icepack from the fridge, random splashes of green, purple and gold covering it from a finger-painting episode a while back. "And we'll let you have some ice cream if you do this for us," Sandy smiles, and I'm grateful that he's here with me. I would have dragged Ryan into the car kicking and screaming before I thought of bribing him with something everyone knew he would evidently get.

Ryan winces as I put the icepack on his arm, pouting. "But only because you and Daddy want me to," he says, making sure that we don't forget about that fact. I don't think he realizes that he's still my little baby, and that it doesn't matter what gets him to the hospital as long as it gets him there within the next half hour.

Hailey's still chatting away about how he's fine, and how kids have some weird rebound thing in their systems that make them more resilient to injuries, and I still don't believe a word that she's saying as I strap both Ryan, and Seth who's decided to come along, into their car seats.

Sandy gets in the drivers seat, and I into the passengers, Hailey waving us goodbye, promising us that we'd come back empty handed.

In the car going 40 miles an hour and I thank God that Seth has the ability to consistently chatter. Most of it I don't understand, things that sound like foreign objects rolling off Seth's tongue like 'Candy'. I can tell through the rearview mirror, the passenger side side-view mirror and my numerous looks back at Ryan that he's progressively getting worse. He's face is starting to turn red, which could be either from the pain or his breathless laughing at a joke or comment that Seth made.

At least he isn't crying.

I'd be ten times more frantic and hysterical if he was crying.

And I do find it rather sad that I know that I would be.

Sandy takes a left, and we pull up to the hospital, Ryan once again assuring us that 'I'm fine.' I once again reassure he's probably right, and to stop complaining because it's not going to change my mind.

With Ryan in Sandy's arms, and Seth holding my hand, we walk confidently into the ER, looking for a place to check in.

"Excuse me!" I call in a panicked voice to a nurse that's about the turn the corner down the hall. She stops and it takes all of my energy to remember that we're in a hospital, and that running would surely be frowned upon. Ryan's turned white by this moment in time, and the nurse is a little shocked while I ask,

"Can you help us? My baby slipped and hit a table, and I'm worried he's broken something in his arm! We need a doctor and x-rays, and-"

"The ER check-in is that'da way," she drawls before I can say anything more, giving my family a once over trying to locate the 'baby' of question, her eyes finally coming to a rest on Ryan's huddled form. I can tell she's skeptical about the nature and seriousness of this 'injury.'

I imagine her checking off a mental list in her mind;

One injured toddler and a tag along, check.

One quiet, calm, supportive husband, check.

One deranged panic struck, overprotective mother, double double check.

Pushing past her and dragging Seth behind me, I head in the direction that the nurse pointed. Only there's a hallway with two forking halls. I head down the left one as confidently as possible, stopping when I come to another T intersection.

"Mommy, are you lost?" Seth asks curiously, tugging lightly on my hand. I smile down at him, laughing at his question.

"Of course I'm not sweetie," I mutter sweetly, running my hand through his dark curly brown hair.

"Only, cause, you sort of look like you are," Seth persists, and I'm finding it hard not to agree with him. A gurney rolls past us, two people pushing it, another sitting on top of the ill patient, pressing a red rag down on the patient's chest, yelling words that could only be medical. They wheel past us, not giving us a second look, and I decide they aren't the best people to be asking directions from.

"I'm not lost Seth," I smile down at him, "I just went the wrong direction. See, we just have to follow the green arrows." Seth nods, his faith in my sense of direction restored, but I find that it's not the same case for Sandy who's trying to cover up his laughter with an incredulously fake cough.

A doctor who happens to be walking by stops to see if Sandy's alright as I start to tug Seth away.

"Are you alright, sir?" he asks in a polite manner. Sandy stops his coughing instantly, nodding.

"I'm fine, it's just that me and my wife got lost. My son, Ryan, he has a…"

The doctor takes the hand that Ryan's so kindly extended and looks at the bump. "Ah, I see," he says knowledgably, and I rush back to Sandy's side, picking Seth up into my arms. He isn't too heavy, and he's only slowing me down anyways.

"What's wrong with it?" I ask franticly, which I seem to be doing a lot of lately. "Does he need a cast? Tensor bandage? Medication? An X-Ray?" The doctor looks at me with wide eyes, and I gasp, despair filling my heart. "Don't tell me my poor Ryan need surgery!" I don't know what I would do if Ryan needed surgery. It would be hell on Earth! He's such a small kid, Seth is small, but not in the same way. "When Ryan was a baby," I start before I even know I'm speaking, "He had malnourishment issues, and he was always small as a kid, even now he's a bit small for his age. He has bad asthma, but it's been getting better lately. I mean, the last attack he's had was about a year ago, so-"

"MISS!" the doctor yells, and I realize he's been trying to cut me off. "Miss, I assure you, from what I see so far, your son will not need to have surgery or anything that serious. If you'll just go check-in, I'll be glad to examine him further."

This time it's Seth who decides to insert his helpful bit of information, "We were heading there," he says, playing with my hair, "But mommy got lost along the way."

"I didn't get lost-" I start, but am cut off by the doctor, who's grinning,

"And what's your name big guy?" he asks, and Seth giggles.

"Seth," he says shyly, and reaches for the doctors Stethoscope as he comes closer. I don't know how many times I've told the boy to not grab things from strangers, but the doctor seems alright with it. In fact, he picks it up and hands Seth the button looking thing at the end.

"Seth? What a cool name!" I back away slightly, but Seth squirms. This guys enthusiasm is starting to creep me out a bit, but Seth seems to like the attention and won't let me leave. "So Seth, do you know what this is for?" he asks, and Seth shakes his head shyly.

"It's called a stethoscope, and I use it to listen to your lungs and heart." Seth nods intuitively, and I'm slightly worried that the doctor has the wrong kid. Shouldn't he be worried about Ryan, who was half-asleep on Sandy's shoulder? "Isn't that cool?" he asks, and Seth nods his head harder, putting one of his fingernails in his mouth.

"It is," he adds after a second with a smile.

"Hey, do you know how your brother got his ouchy?" – and I finally understand what he's doing.

It's all the prompting that Seth needed to send him off on the tangent of the afternoon, "Me and Ry were playing in the pool, and when Auntie Hailey came out- Auntie Hails is the best, she's gonna be babysitting us while Mommy and Daddy go off to the Bar for a couple days cause they said they needed a couple days off- but Auntie Hailey's gonna take care of us, and she came out to the pool and we all started playing, and then Ryan said that we should try and pull her into the pool cause it'd be funny, cause she didn't want to get wet, and so we got up and grabbed her hands and pulled her into the pool, which is in our backyard, and its usually warm, but we aren't allowed to go and play in it when no ones watching us and there's always a cover over it when we don't use it so we don't fall in accidentally, but it's really, really cool; when we lived back home, we didn't have a pool and hardly ever went swimming but me and Ry knew how to swim, and we moved here because Grandma was sick, and home's here now, but I really miss Nana, but it's okay, cause we get to see Auntie Hailey a lot more, and Mommy and Daddy like it here, even though Daddy always complains about how much it's not like back home, but I think deep down inside he really likes it… I like it here, but the pool isn't that awesome, cause sometimes when we play in it, water gets on floor beside it, and sometime we slip on it when we run, which is what happened to Ryan, he was running on the deck, and me and Auntie Hailey jumped into the pool, and then Ryan was lying on the ground crying, holding his hand like this!" Seth demonstrated, holding his arm up awkwardly, and there was silence.

Seth, who'd been playing with the stethoscope the whole time takes it off the flabbergasted doctor's neck and put the ear buds into his own ears. His small hands gripped the button thingy on it and he pressed the cool metal into my cheek.

"Seth, honey, that's cold," I mutter in protest, and he pouts.

The doctor finally seems to have regained his composure and swallows. "Oh-kay… Uh, I'll take you to the ER to check-in, and then we'll get some X-rays done on Ryan's arm. Does that sound good?" he asks, and I laugh at his face. I'm far too used to Seth's rambling to be shocked by it any longer. The doctor takes the stethoscope away from Seth gently, and Seth watches him while he walks us to the ER.

"Just stand here and the nurse will call you in," he says after we've taken the elevator three floors up, and maneuvered a labyrinth of hallways and doors. No wonder I couldn't find the stupid place.

"Mommy, what's OR mean?" Seth asks, looking around the bland room.

I turn to Sandy as the nurse calls for the next person. "Can you take Seth and go get a snack or something?" I ask, placing Seth on the floor and helping Sandy transfer Ryan into my arms.

"Mommy, what's OR mean?" Seth asks again, taking hold of Sandy's arm.

"Why don't you ask Daddy?" I suggest, walking over to the nurses station. The nurse looks at me and then at Ryan, pointing to the seat on the other side of the desk. "Ryan, honey, wake up," I whisper, and Ryan opens his tiny, groggy eyes.

"I dun wanna," he whines, and I hug him tightly. He's so tiny and fragile; I can't stress the fact that my little baby's been hurt enough.

"Can you place this around his arm?" the nurse asks me, and I unzip the sweater I've put on Ryan, tightening the thing that measures blood pressure… it's at this point that I realize I have no idea what all these gadgets and gizmo's are called, other then the names I give them.

Ryan starts crying as the machine turns on, "Mommy, it hurts!" he sobs, close to the point of hysteria. I hug him and try to calm him down as much as possible. I'm not sure whether he's just moody because he's tired, his arm is starting to hurt more, or the blood pressure machine thing is too tight.

"I know honey, but it won't for much longer," I whisper, kissing the top of his head. Ryan's beginning to cry and I can sense my calm beginning to slip. "How much longer is it going to take?" I ask the lady behind the desk, and she looks at me oddly.

"It hasn't even started yet madam," the nurse informs me, and now origin of the crying is between Ryan being moody and the machine scaring him or his arm starting to hurt more. "How did this happen?" she asks in a bored tone, and I adjust Ryan on my lap.

"He was running on the deck and he slipped and ran into a table I think. My sister was watching them, I'm not exactly sure what happened."

"His arm hurting?" she asks a bit more humanely, and the machines done its work. She pulls the thing off Ryan's small arm and takes his fever.

"Yes, and there's a big bump on it, and he said he couldn't move his hand. We ran into the doctor and he said something about an X-Ray…"

"Sounds good Madam. I'll just need his name and health care number and I'll get a band run off for you."

I pass the items of choice over the desk, and she types in something or another into a high-tech looking computer, and a second later I can hear the printer starting to run. The nurse gets up and crosses over to get the band for Ryan, and I take the opportunity to giver Ryan a quick once over. "How are you feeling honey?" I ask, and Ryan shrugs his little shoulders.

How adorable; he's still putting on the brave façade. "My arm hurts," he mutters quietly, collapsing into my arms, his eyes red from the tears, his face white from… well, I don't know, but the point is that Ryan looks completely and utterly exhausted.

"Just sit down in the waiting area Mame, it shouldn't take too long."

Shouldn't take too long my ass. By the time we were out of the hospital, a bright orange cast around Ryan's arm; the sun was already beginning to fade, and Sandy and I had long since missed our flight.

Oh well, I thought to myself as I put Ryan and Seth to sleep in their identical power ranger beds. My babies were all right and fine, and as much as I needed this vacation, nothing was ever going to be better then being with my munchkins.

And, on a side note, I was quite impressed with the way I conducted myself inside that hospital – not any of that crazy lady mother panic we mothers are usually stereo-typed with…


End file.
